In the previous offering I ended with a question challenging us to imagine what it would be like to make all our decisions operating in the Kingdom of God i.e. operating in His will.

The first obvious answer is that it would require rethinking, replanning and revisioning our everyday lives to align with the will of God.

HOW does one do such an overwhelming task?

James Bryan Smith in his book THE GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL GOD states that we do not rethink, replan or revision by our own direct willpower but by indirection, in other words by changing our narratives, our practices and our community under the leading of the Holy Spirit.

First and foremost is to move to a place of awareness and dependence on the spiritual realities around us. To put simply, to learn how to hear God so we can know His will for our lives. Knowing His will for our lives helps us to change the way we think.

HOW do we learn to hear God? Very few really take anytime to harvest this great resource.

We learn to hear God through spiritual exercises or practices. Exercises such as being still and silent letting yourself be centered to God in His presence. Taking a small slice of God’s Word and letting it wash over you by repeated reading and listening to His voice for a fresh direction. Talking to God and listening for His guidance in prayer. We also often hear God through the consultation with other believers in community such as times with spiritual directors, small groups and community bible studies.

As we build upon these experiences under the direction of the Holy Spirit God opens up to us the realities of His world through a combination of the spiritual and the material.

Sadly very few who take the name of Christ have the time or the desire to have such a transformative relationship with Him. They simply state they are born again, attend church and wait for Heaven.

But my friend look at the encounter that Jesus had with Nicodemus closely when He told him he must be “born again.” (John 3:3-8) It had nothing to do with forgiveness of sin but was an introduction to him and to us in regard to the spiritual realities of our existence.

It is time we had firsthand knowledge of God as part of our faith, for faith without knowledge is just mere belief. It is time to stop just believing in Jesus and waiting for Heaven and to bring Heaven within you based upon a firsthand knowledge of God’s Kingdom and the spiritual realities it ushers in.